WE MEET in interesting times. It’s a phrase used so very often but one very befitting of the upcoming meeting at our regional conference. The meeting takes place just weeks before a general election, possibly the most important election for a generation.

The outcome is too close for many to call, but the issues facing us are clear. A future built on divisions within our communities and within society, or the hope of a country which delivers for all and not just the few at the very top.

The Midlands has been hit hard during these last five years. Average pay down by almost £50 per week, nearly one in four workers earning less than the living wage, resulting in few people feeling any benefit of a recovery.

Jobs, often low skilled, zero-hours and low paid, blight our economy and it is essential that we shout up for workers to make sure they are heard.

I was very proud to be appointed regional secretary of the Midlands TUC in August of last year.

With this job comes huge challenges for a body that has over 50 affiliated organisations representing almost one million working people. But if there is one thing I am determined to achieve then that is to give those organisations and those working people a voice in society, in the economy and in our communities across the Midlands.

We have started already in organising quarterly meetings with the regional governor of the Bank of England, who gives briefings to senior union officers in the region.

In turn we give the views and the experiences of working people in a message that the regional governor takes back to the Bank of England governor. This gives our movement a direct voice in influencing monetary policy in our regional economy.

Our campaigning activities have been ongoing and will continue to be.

The TUC is travelling in a new direction and campaigns are at the heart of all that we do. This region will play a vital role in the future.

Austerity is hitting the most vulnerable the hardest and yet, unbelievably, we are only halfway through.

Originally austerity cuts were forecast at 6.7 per cent of GDP, now it is expected to reach 10.3 per cent of GDP.

In cash terms that’s an increase from £120 billion to £210bn, frightening figures and being paid for by working people.

While the pay in the boardroom is up by over 20 per cent, workers in the Midlands are worse off by over £2,500 with nearly 30 per cent not earning the living wage.

Our campaigns throughout the year include Britain Needs a Pay Rise, the Decent Jobs Week for workers’ rights and against zero-hours contracts and our Fair Pay Fortnight which highlights the need for workers’ dignity through payment of a living wage.

Without a shadow of a doubt it has been the work of the TUC and its affiliates which has kept the issue of pay firmly on the political agenda.

As we prepare and get ready to see the outcome of a general election in 2015, much is at stake. We currently have an out-of-control Tory-led administration embarking on union-busting at a national level.

Recently announced plans to curtail the right to strike of public sector workers makes it obvious what the Tories want to achieve.

The TUC in the Midlands will be the campaigning voice of working people to ensure that we get:

• Jobs, growth and a new economy

• Fair pay and a living wage

• Good services and decent welfare nrespect and a voice at work

• Justice for all.

Our conference tomorrow gives us an opportunity to maintain and focus our campaigning as we look to the year ahead. Joining us will be TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady and campaigning MP Tom Watson.

Together we can build an economy that delivers for working people. Together through strong trade unions we can build a better, fairer Midlands and Britain for all.

Lee Baron is Midlands TUC general secretary.